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By Johanna Kaiser, Town Correspondent

Opponents of the Huntington Ave. YMCA’s plans to demolish and rebuild its gym and pool as part of a project to erect a Northeastern University dormitory expressed ongoing distrust and frustration with the proposal at a contentious public meeting Wednesday.

“This will only hurt members rather than help them,” Andre Jones, a Y member, said at a meeting to discuss the demolition of the facility’s pool and squash courts and a portion of Bates Hall.

Under the plan the pool and courts would be rebuilt to update the facilities and accommodate the loss of the gym building, which the Y is selling to Phoenix Property Co. The company plans to build a $75 million, 17-story dormitory for Northeastern in its place.

The Y hopes to build modern basketball and handball courts, and lap and therapy pools in the new addition. It would also move the weight room and exercise equipment to the second floor of the main building while the corporate offices housed there now would be moved to the top floor of the new addition along with other renovations.

Many of the Y’s members, residents, and neighbors, who have long opposed the dorm, are now fighting against the new facilities that they say are misguided and do not benefit the members of the urban facility.

“The Y doesn’t think there’s a community in these walls; we know there’s a community in these walls,” said Jones, who like many others at the meeting felt members were not given enough say in the changes made by the YMCA board of directors.

Several meetings about the changes were held and a survey of members priorities were administered before the plan was unveiled.

Y officials said updated recreation facilities and programs are part of a larger effort to bring the 100-year-old building into the 21st century and make the YMCA of Greater Boston more accessible and family friendly.

“You’re not in Needham. ... It’s a drastic mistake,” Jones said, criticizing the decision. Many said the changes would benefit a more suburban, family-centric and less diverse clientele, such as a separate therapy pool for families to use and family locker rooms.

There were practical concerns, too.

The indoor running track would not be replaced and the basketball court, like the current court, would be smaller than the NCAA standard. Others were concerned about the quality of life of Y residents during construction and the number of people who will cancel their memberships while the work was going on. Northeastern has agreed to give Y members access to its Marino Center.

Wendy Zinn, executive director of the YMCA of Greater Boston said the building now is “old, inefficient, and really expensive to operate,” and the changes would allow the Y to use its resources on programming and services instead of maintenance and renovation.

“It’s patricide. It’s killing your father because he wouldn’t give you a bigger allowance,” Gallanter said after the meeting, referring to the school’s founding in 1898 as a night school at the Y.

The Y must now file its plans with the Boston Landmarks Commission, which will determine if the pool building is historically significant or can be demolished.
--Twitter: @YTFenwayKenmore
E-mail: johanna.yourtown@gmail.com